Asking for Help! Meditation Questions and the Pineal Gland Experiment

3 years, 1 month ago

I’m a little curious about this whole, meditation thing and I need a little insight. I started meditating a while back (maybe 6-8 months) but at one point I stopped doing it because I got kind of scared at something which I’ll explain later. I’ve meditated I think at least once a day for the past few weeks, and it’s really nice. But I’m not sure what to do or if I’m doing it right and things of that nature.

So basically I’ve tried a bunch of guided meditations, I’ve read different techniques online, and I’m still a little confused. What I’ve been doing is starting out with a breathing technique where I focus on my breath but I don’t control it. From there I usually think about centering myself. I’ve done a few meditations on Chakras but I don’t fully understand them so, I’m not really sure what I’m doing XD Sometimes I visualize different things like white lights cleansing my body or inhaling beautiful white mists filled with love. And generally those seem to put me in a very relaxed state. Sometimes I get to the point where my body feels very light, and my mind is almost blank but that only happens every once in a while. I’ve also tried to just be, and not think about anything at all. I never am fully able to let go of all my thoughts though. Is that normal? Does that just take practice?

Umm, so I guess my questions are something to the sort of, is there more to it? Have I covered the basics? Where else can I go with exploring my mind and are there more mentally intense meditations I could try? I hope you kind of understand what I’m asking I know its really vague but any general knowledge on the subject is appreciated.

Also, I’ve been trying doing a little experimenting with the Pineal Gland. Basically what I know about the pineal gland is that it releases DMT for us when we sleep which is responsible for our dreams, and it releases a lot of DMT when we die. It’s sometimes referred to as our “third eye” which makes me wonder about it. So during my meditations I’ve tried to activate it. I imagine a pulse around where I believe it should be located in my brain and I feel this pulse go through my entire head and body, or I imagine it lighting up in my head and I feel this light continuously expand until I’ve completely turned the gland on and activated it. My theory was with a little practice, I would be able to release DMT on my own and explore my subconscious. Does anyone know if this is possible? So far I’ve been able to get myself to a very, like, stoned consciousness. My whole body feels heavy and I’m really slow. But It’s also really cool. Its hard to describe but it takes me a while to really come back and bring myself out of it.

So my question basically is, does anyone know if it’s possible to experience a DMT trip at will, using what we have inside us already? Or have you heard of anything like it? Again pretty much any general knowledge about the subject is appreciated. Thanks for your time :) I know this is a small wall of text, I meant to try to keep it short, sorry XD!!

The whole universe is nothing but pure consciousness. Scientific researches have taken us up to the point where we can convincingly say that at the quantum level it is just the play of energy that is going on in the entire universe. (everything has a mass and thus can be converted into energy. Remember the famous Einstein equation E = MC2 )

However the spiritual world is of the view that in the ultimate analysis, in a more deeper level (something still beyond even the reach of quantum physics ) everything in the whole universe is pure consciousness (known also as supreme consciousness or God ). And it is just the play of this consciousness that is going on. The whole universe is a manifestation of this supreme consciousness.

Everybody who is a part of this universe (which includes everything on our planet including you ) is made up of this supreme consciousness. Self, is nothing but a part of this supreme consciousness in its purest form.

What is self? It is the pure awareness of “I am”, the original “I’ consciousness which has been within us ever since we come into this world. Even though that ‘I’ exist in the woman, it is not a woman, even though it exist in a man, it is not a man. That ‘I’ is without form, colour or any other attribute. We have superimposed different notions onto it- notions like “I am a man / woman/ an American/an Indian”. But when we wipe them all away that “I” is nothing but pure consciousness.

@hazee, It sounds like your on the right track, but youve still got much to explore. The clowding of the thoughts takes a long time to conquor, but once you can get past that, your explorations are unteathered.

Ive had similar thoughts pertaining to DMT release. During a very intense exploration session, I experienced what I now know to be a mild DMT trip. I can almost feel the gland flexing while I meditatie, and the more I let go, the more intense it gets. Ive had some unreal experiences while “working out” this muscle in my brain. It feels very similar to the 3rd eye that you discribe.

What I suggest to you is that you work on finding a way to clear you head. Ive heard of alot of variations, but most of them involve sweeping away of thoughts, and sweeping again when they come back. Repeating the process untill you achieve mental clarity.

From there, start exploring the space around you. Forget about your body being a teather to 3D, and explore the cosmos above.. :)

@tigerturban, Thank you a bunch for this link! I’m about to try it out. And that’s an awesome segment.

@bigred, thanks for responding man! Right after posting this I went and tried and had a very cool meditation session! I imagined the entire universe being inside of my mind and I picture myself flying through all of space, past a bunch of galaxies until I found the milky way, then past all these stars and solar systems, then I flew past all of the planets in our solar system until I reached earth. It gave me a very open feeling, it was pretty awesome. And the sweeping away thoughts kind of reminded me, one time I tried visualizing all of my thoughts as a dirty window, and I kept cleaning the window until I could see through it. It worked out pretty I had an interesting experience. Again thanks for the insight!

You shouldn’t be trying to do anything while meditating. Just relax, breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth, and don’t think. Soon you will enter a state of pure consciousness/awareness, this is meditation.

Gurus who sell quick meditation methods, encounter groups, seminars, and television specials are just taking advantage of the naive. The very synapses in your brain must be rewired to reconnect in new ways to gain progress in meditation. This organic transformation takes a long time, and there is no way around patient practice. All authentic meditation methods can be done alone, at home, at no financial cost to you.

@hazee, Heaviness is the very first sensation you experience when smoking DMT, so it sounds like you’re on the right track. Your goal is certainly possible. Monks have done more insane stuff than this. After all you can induce an out of body experience through meditation, so I can’t imagine you wouldn’t be able to induce an inner-body chemical to be produced.

@blankey, Sorry bud I have to shoot you down on this one. There are many, many forms of meditation. The practice you stated is only the most popular. The only thing common among them all seems to be focus… on a certain activity, sensation, visual point, mantra, etc. In general, I’ve found that any ‘absolute’ truth is false (including this one — ha!). All truths are paradoxical. In other words, talking in absolutes is a hint that one does not truly know :)

(excerpts from Teachings by Sogyal Rinpoche) … When you read books about meditation, or often when meditation is is presented by different groups, much of the emphasis falls on the techniques. In the West, people tend to be very interested in the “technology” of meditation. However, by far the most important feature of meditation is not technique, but the way of being, the spirit, which is callled the “posture”, a posture which is not so much physical, but more to do with spirit or attitude.

It is well to recognize that when you start on a meditation practice, you are entering a totally different dimension of reality. Normally in life we put a great deal of effort into achieving things, and there is a lot of struggle involved, whereas meditation is just the opposite, it is a break from how we normally operate.

Meditation is simply a question of being, of melting, like a piece of butter left in the sun. It has nothing to do with whether or not you “know” anything about it, in fact, each time you practice meditation it should be fresh, as if it were happening for the very first time. You just quietly sit, your body still, your speech silent, your mind at ease, and allow thoughts to come and go, without letting them play havoc on you. If you need something to do, then watch the breathing. This is a very simple process. When you are breathing out, know that you are breathing out. When you breath in, know that you are breathing in, without supplying any kind of extra commentary or internalized mental gossip, but just identifying with the breath. That very simple process of mindfulness processes your thoughts and emotions, and then, like an old skin being shed, something is peeled off and freed.

Usually people tend to relax the body by concentrating on different parts. Real relaxation comes when you relax from within, for then everything else will ease itself out quite naturally.

When you begin to practice, you center yourself, in touch with your “soft spot”, and just remain there. You need not focus on anything in particular to begin with. Just be spacious, and allow thoughts and emotions to settle. If you do so, then later, when you use a method such as watching the breath, your attention will more easily be on your breathing. There is no particular point on the breath on which you need to focus, it is simply the process of breathing. Twenty-five percent of your attention is on the breath, and seventy-five percent is relaxed. Try to actually identify with the breathing, rather than just watching it. You may choose an object, like a flower, for example, to focus upon. Sometimes you are taught to visualize a light on the forehead, or in the heart. Sometimes a sound or a mantra can be used. But at the beginning it is best to simply be spacious, like the sky. Think of yourself as the sky, holding the whole universe.

When you sit, let things settle and allow all your discordant self with its ungenuineness and unnaturalness to disolve, out of that rises your real being. You experience an aspect of yourself which is more genuine and more authentic-the “real” you. As you go deeper, you begin to discover and connect with your fundamental goodness.

The whole point of meditation is to get used to the that aspect which you have forgotten. In Tibetan “meditation” means “getting used to”. Getting used to what? to your true nature, your Buddha nature. This is why, in the highest teaching of Buddhism, Dzogchen, you are told to “rest in the nature of mind”. You just quietly sit and let all thoughts and concepts dissolve. It is like when the clouds dissolve or the mist evaporates, to reveal the clear sky and the sun shining down. When everything dissolves like this, you begin to experience your true nature, to “live”. Then you know it, and at that moment, you feel really good. It is unlike any other feeling of well being that you might have experienced. This is a real and genuine goodness, in which you feel a deep sense of peace, contentment and confidence about yourself.

It is good to meditate when you feel inspired. Early mornings can bring that inspiration, as the best moments of the mind are early in the day, when the mind is calmer and fresher (the time traditionaly recommended is before dawn). It is more appropriate to sit when you are inspired, for not only is it easier then as you are in a better frame of mind for meditation, but you will also be more encouraged by the very practice that you do. This in turn will bring more confidence in the practice, and later on you will be able to practice when you are not inspired. There is no need to meditate for a long time: just remain quietly until you are a little open and able to connect with your heart essence. That is the main point.

After that, some integration, or meditation in action. Once your mindfulness has been awakened by your meditation, your mind is calm and your perception a little more coherent. Then, whatever you do, you are present, right there. As in the famous Zen master’s saying: “When I eat, I eat; when I sleep, I sleep”. Whatever you do, you are fully present in the act. Even washing dishes, if it is done one-pointedly, can be very energizing, freeing, cleansing. You are more peaceful, so you are more “you”. You assume the “Universal You”.

One of the fundamental points of the spiritual journey is to persevere along the path. Though one’s meditation may be good one day and and not so good the next, like changes in scenery, essentially it is not the experiences, good or bad which count so much, but rather that when you persevere, the real practice rubs off on you and comes through both good and bad. Good and bad are simply apparations, just as there may be good or bad weather, yet the sky is always unchanging. If you persevere and have that sky like attitude of spaciousness, without being perturbed by emotions and experiences, you will develop stability and the real profoundness of meditation will take effect. You will find that gradually and almost unnoticed, your attitude begins to change. You do not hold on to things as solidly as before, or grasp at them so strongly, and though crisis will still happen, you can handle them a bit better with more humor and ease. You will even be able to laugh at difficulties a little, since there is more space between you and them, and you are freer of yourself. Things become less solid, slightly ridiculous, and you become more light-hearted.